This is a non-profit event, and all proceeds will go towards the establishment of a Frankie Manning Fund/Foundation to support Frankie's legacy and to promote swing music and dance all over the world. For more info, contact David Jacoby, (212) 769-1476, info@frankie95.com
Manning 's autobiography, Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop, (Temple University Press May 2007) was written with Cynthia R. Millman. It features his stories about the early days of swing dancing and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, recounting his experiences up through the revival of swing dancing in the 1980s. Celebrity student Bette Midler calls him, "A poet of the dance floor” and says, ”This book is a must read for any one who loves the dance, amateur or professional. What a life he has lived, and thank God he remembers it all!"
Timeline (courtesy www.frankiemanning.com)
1914 Born on May 26 in Jacksonville, Florida.
1926 Savoy Ballroom opens at Lenox Avenue and 140th Street in Harlem.
1933 First ventures to Savoy Ballroom.
1934 Invited by Herbert "Whitey" White to join elite group of Savoy Lindy hoppers.
1935 Introduces the first Lindy air step, over-the-back.
Introduces "stops" and synchronized ensemble lindy routines.
1936 Whyte's Hopping Maniacs appear in downtown reopening of the Cotton Club.
1937 Whitey's Lindy Hoppers appear in A Day at the Races (uncredited).
1938 Whitey's Hopping Maniacs appear in Radio City Revels (uncredited).
1939 Arthur White's Lindy Hoppers appear in Keep Punching.
1941 Congeroo Dancers appear in Hellzapoppin'. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers appear in Hot Chocolate ("Cottontail") with Duke Ellington.
1943 Inducted into Army. Serves in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan.
1947 FM's new group, the Congaroo Dancers, debuts at Roxy Theatre.
1948 Four Congaroos appear in Killer Diller.
1955 Disbands the Congaroo Dancers.
Goes to work for the U.S. Postal Service.
1958 Savoy Ballroom closes.
1986 Begins teaching career by agreeing to work with Erin Stevens and Steven Mitchell.
1987 Retires from the post office.
1989 Wins Tony Award for Best Choreography for Black and Blue with Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, and Fayard Nicholas.
1992 Serves as consultant/performer in Spike Lee's film Malcolm X.
Serves as assistant choreographer/performer with Norma Miller in Debbie
Allen's Stompin' at the Savoy.
1994 Receives NEA Choreographers' Fellowship.
1999 Performs in PBS special, Swinging' with Duke, featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
2000 Receives NEA National Heritage Fellowship.
Appears in Ken Burns's documentary, Jazz.
2007 Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop is published.
RESOURCES
Frankie Manning dies at 94; helped popularize the Lindy Hop click here Accessed May 17, 2009.
Lindy Hop great Frankie Manning dies at 94 click here
http://www.savoystyle.com/congaroo_dancers.html Accessed May 17, 2009.
http://www.savoystyle.com/whiteys_lindy_hoppers.html Accessed May 17, 2009.
www.savoystyle.com Accessed May 17, 2009.
Frankie Manning: ‘Ambassador of the Lindy Hop’, 1914-2009. click here Accessed May 17, 2009.
http://frankie95.com/frankieweek.php Accessed May 17, 2009.
www.frankiemanning.com Accessed May 18, 2009.
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